


Welcome Back to Hogwarts: Analysis of First Week Lessons in the Harry Potter Saga

by The Corellian Pirate (Turhaya_Hundteth)



Series: The Literary Analysis Series [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Character Study, Classes, Dumbledore's Army, Foreshadowing, Herbology, Hogwarts, Horcruxes, Lessons, Literary Theory, Master of Death Harry Potter, Potions, Transfiguration, Triwizard Tournament, dada, harry potter saga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26298427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turhaya_Hundteth/pseuds/The%20Corellian%20Pirate
Summary: An examination of Harry Potter's first week of lessons through the books series.The classes in the first week back at Hogwarts provide a good grounding – steeping us in school routine, and normal life at Hogwarts. It also introduces new story elements which will come into play during the book. But that’s not all…This post will examine the wonderful foreshadowing which is present in each book, hidden in the first week back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Series: The Literary Analysis Series [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1910779
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters - An Introduction

It is September again...

That magical time of year when we all lament the fact that we’re muggles, and once again didn’t get a seat on the Hogwarts Express. There’s no platform 9 ¾ for us… How we long to be part of Harry’s familiar September journey on that scarlet steam train! The witch with the food trolley. The Sorting. The feast. Dumbledore’s speech. Gryffindor tower...

And… the classes! Harry’s first week back at school, and his new class timetable, is always a source of routine and comfort.

However, it struck me how unusual the standard format is – _always_ covering off Harry’s first week lessons, rather than cutting to the action. The first year is understandable – we’re dying to know what his lessons are like! This is a new adventure for us all. But by book 6, all I really wanted to know was what Malfoy was up to. Get to the Death Eater stuff!

Got me thinking… Why did JKR do it?

I’ll admit, it does provide a good grounding – steeping us in school routine, normal life at Hogwarts and familiarity. It allows us to bond with the castle and its inhabitants. It also provides a nice, stable launch pad from which to let the chaos unfold.

It also serves a second function. One you’ve no doubt picked up on – exposition. Introducing new elements which will come into play during the book. New teachers, new topics, and anything the reader wasn’t familiar with in the last book.

But that’s not all…

There was something else…

It kept scratching at my mind…

Irritating me like Padfoot’s fleas…

Then I found it. Maybe it found me?

Not unlike Barty Crouch Jnr when Voldemort turned up at his house, it had me grinning like a psychopathic maniac. Or perhaps I was more like a niffler who’s spotted something shiny? Excited at the prospect of discovering a gem?

A wonderful, hidden gem, in a saga littered with more gold than Gringotts…

Foreshadowing. Beautifully crafted foreshadowing.

When we look at the first week lessons as a set, we find that each one gives a broader foreshadowing of all the key elements we need to understand the story. Basically, if you pay attention to the first week’s lessons, you should be able to get the gist of the overall tale. In a way it’s much like an overview at the start of a course, term, or lesson: _Here’s what we’ll be learning today…_

As Ron would say, it’s bloody brilliant.

**This post will look at each of the books and the lessons that are described _only in Harry’s first week_ back at Hogwarts.**

I’m going to outline the lessons briefly, and then look at what each lesson foreshadows within that book. Some are obvious, and will need little explaining, because they also serve the more pragmatic exposition function. I’ll try not to bore you with details you’ve probably figured out for yourself.

But others are obscure, so I’ll go into a bit of speculation about what I think these could mean.

So, you’ve got seven more chapters to read, but thankfully no conclusion because, well…

I just gave you everything you need to know about my theory right up front…

All that’s left is to see the proof in the extrapolation pudding…

Much like watching Harry’s first week lessons play out in the books…

Enjoy!


	2. First Year Classes

First year gives us six classes in Harry’s first week:

  1. Astronomy - The first lesson mentioned is astronomy which takes place in the tower, although the teacher is not named, and no events in class are talked about.
  2. Herbology - Sprout is the first teacher we hear about. Harry learns about magical plants and fungi.
  3. Charms - Flitwick is the next teacher mentioned. He falls over with excitement when he reaches Harry’s name on the register.
  4. Transfiguration – McGonagall warns them it is difficult magic, changes her desk into a pig and back, and sets them a difficult task (matches into needles)
  5. Defence Against the Dark Arts – Quirrell’s class turns out to be a bit of a joke, and they’re not sure they believe his stories.
  6. Potions - Snape greets ‘our new celebrity’ Harry to his first potions class and warns them it will be difficult. They won’t appreciate the ‘subtle science and exact art’ that is potion making. Hermione knows the answers to the impossible questions posed by Snape, and the first points Harry loses is for cheeking Snape, telling him to ask Hermione. Snape also gives Harry a serve for letting Neville mess up his potion.



Harry’s first week lessons are the exact order of the challenges the trio face to get to the philosopher's stone:

  1. Sprout’s devil snare
  2. Flitwick’s flying keys
  3. McGonagall’s chess set
  4. Quirrell’s troll
  5. Snape’s potion puzzle



You may be wondering where the astronomy comes into it. What would you say if I told you _‘Mars was unusually bright tonight’_? I see the mention of the Astronomy tower serving a two-fold function in what it signifies. 

Firstly, a tower is the place where baby Norbert is taken for his illegal flight to freedom, and where Harry leaves his invisibility cloak (allowing them to be caught by Filch and sent into the forest on detention). Secondly, the centaur’s references to Mars being bright is a comment on brewing war and conflict with the return of Voldemort. I think the astronomy lesson is a hint to this overarching idea of Voldemort’s return, and a nod to the astrological predictions given to us by our four-legged friends of the forest.

These incidents both connect to Hagrid, and it is of course Hagrid who provides Fluffy as the first obstacle in the forbidden third floor corridor.

Sprout and Flitwick’s classes are described briefly, but very differently. The description of herbology focuses on what they do, and what they learn about. Flitwick’s subject is not explored, but we get a description of him ‘falling’ with excitement.

The solution to Sprout’s devil snare is what they learnt in class. Hermione resolves the problem based on what she has learnt from Professor Sprout. The solution to Flitwick’s keys is to fly through the air, and the tiny professor falling from a high place is a nice reflection of this – note it is Harry’s name which causes Flitwick to fall, and ultimately it is only Harry (being a brilliant seeker) who could catch they key.

McGonagall’s giant chess set proves very difficult, and very clever. In her class, Minerva gives the first years a stern talking to, which includes a warning that anyone messing about will leave and not return. In chess, taken pieces leave the board and do not return, and Ron’s sacrifice meant he could not continue on the journey with Hermione and Harry.

Quirrell’s DADA class is described as a bit of a joke. They also notice that he avoids answering questions about his turban (a key article in the novel, as it conceals the Dark Lord’s disembodied face). The students wonder whether or not there is any truth to his stories, as he stammers, turns pink and talks about the weather. Here you have a nod to the fact that Quirrell’s troll will likewise be a non-event as it was already knocked out, and a hint that perhaps you shouldn’t really believe what Quirrell says. He is covering up the truth (quite literally covering it up with a turban).

Lastly, we have the loathsome, hooked-nosed, greasy git – Snape. Just like his potions class, Harry is completely clueless how to solve Snape’s potion riddle, and it is up to Hermione to figure out the answer. Snape’s comment in class that there is “little foolish wand waving” in Potions, and that students will “hardly believe this is magic” are reflected when Hermione realises that Snape’s challenge is a matter of logic.

If you used Google, you could probably answer Snape’s questions from his class. Aconite and bezoars are easily found on Wikipedia, and if you look into Asphodel (associated with death) and Wormwood (which makes absinthe) you can see the association with the Draught of Living Death. I believe these questions were deliberately ‘muggle-ish’ and not based in Potter-made lore. A clue to the fact that there will be no actual magic required to solve Snape’s puzzle.

Snape picking on Neville (and blaming Harry for Neville’s failure in class) also reflects Longbottom standing up to his friends. Ron warns Harry not to challenge Snape, as he can turn nasty. It is Neville finding the bravery to challenge his friends which ultimately wins Gryffindor the House Cup.


	3. Second Year Classes

Second year starts for our trio with three classes:

  1. Herbology - Harry meets Justin Finch-Fletchy, and the class learn about mandrakes and their restorative properties. Hermione, of course, answers Professor Sprouts questions correctly.
  2. Transfiguration - Where they attempt to turn beetles into coat buttons. Hermione figures it out. Harry can’t seem to pin his down and it ‘avoids his wand’. Ron’s wand is too busy malfunctioning, and he ends up squashing his beetle with his elbow.
  3. Defence Against the Dark Arts - In this shamble of a DADA class, Lockhart quizzes them about himself and then lets a cage of pixies lose.



Mandrakes, petrification, and Justin are all important points of exposition.

Don’t worry about all the students being petrified, because Professor Sprout has a batch of mandrakes that will make this go away! That will give us a really good excuse to keep the school open a little longer, even though someone in the castle is clearly an un-hinged muggle murderer.

While we will be introduced to Colin Creevy, and Colin is the first victim, it is Justin who is introduced first in Herbology. I believe this is because it is with Justin that most ambiguity of Harry’s goodness lies. Where Colin was a devout Harry fan, and got petrified at a time where Harry was clearly stuck in the hospital wing, Justin’s circumstances were different. Justin was found by Harry, which placed him at the scene of the crime. There had also been the incident with parseltongue at the duelling club, and Harry overhearing the Hufflepuffs talking about him. It’s not so much the _physical victim_ that Justin represents – it is the doubt that everyone (including Harry) seems to have around whether or not Harry is Slytherin’s heir.

In short, Justin Finch-Fletchy is the official poster boy for the ‘is Harry evil?’ argument.

The Transfiguration lesson has three very different outcomes for our trio.

Hermione figures it all out. She comes out of class with a ‘handful’ of coat buttons. She will later exit the library with a handful of paper which provides all the answers Harry needs. Her beetle was transfigured into a solid object, much like her.

Harry can’t seem to even hit his beetle with a spell, and gives it exercise at it scuttles over the table avoiding his wand. Later, Harry will again find himself ineffectual because he _stupidly threw his wand away_ , allowing Tom Riddle to take it. From that point, he’ll have to scuttle away from the Basalisk, getting his own dose of exercise.

Ron will be impacted by his broken wand. While the wand acts up in class, it also acts up in the chamber of secrets, causing Lockhart to obliviate himself and cause a cave in. They’ll be ‘squashed’ by the falling rocks and Lockhart’s memory will be destroyed (much like Ron’s beetle).

After Transfiguration, Ron and Harry discuss whether or not Ron should write home and ask for a new wand. Ron suspects he will simply be told by his mother that the whole thing is his fault (i.e. he brought it on himself). In front of the Weasleys, Dumbledore will later be amused by Gilderoy falling on his own sword – bringing his fate on himself – caused by Ron’s malfunctioning wand.

We normally don’t see magical creatures outside of Care of Magical Creatures classes, but there are two first-week exceptions, and both are with DADA classes. The first is Lockhart’s ridiculous lesson with the pixies, and the second being Lupin’s ‘ridikulous’ lesson with the boggart.

In DADA, we see Lockhart give the class a useless quiz about himself and his books, which had nothing to do with DADA. This is consistent with Lockhart’s real magical talents (which are poor) and propensity for making everything about himself. Save the Weasley girl, or his ill-gotten fame? Not a tough call for old Gilderoy.

This lesson is the first time we get an idea that Lockhart could be a fraud, as Ron points out at the end of the chapter. He corrects Hermione’s statement about all the things Lockhart _says_ he’s done. Fittingly, Gilderoy runs away from the magical creatures (pixies) and leaves the trio to clean up his mess. The same thing will happen with the Basalisk – the trio will end up dealing with the magical creature that Lockhart is unable (and unwilling) to deal with.


	4. Third Year Classes

Third year starts off for Harry like this:

  1. Divination – We meet Trelawney for the first time, and are told about the Grim
  2. Transfiguration – McGonagall’s Animagus class, where the kids don’t pay attention because they’re obsessing over the prediction
  3. Care of Magical Creatures – we meet Buckbeak the Hippogriff and find out how to wrangle him. Malfoy doesn’t listen, and as a result, this feisty Slytherin will try and send Buckbeak to a very unfair demise
  4. Potions – Malfoy taunts Harry, and goads him about finding Black
  5. DADA – We met Lupin, and see both Remus and Harry’s greatest fears in boggart form



We start out third year with Divination and an introduction to Professor Trelawney. The Grim and Sirius are quite obvious hints at what is to come, but it is Hermione’s scepticism that gives the reader the real clue: we should _not_ be scared of the Grim. _She_ doesn’t think it’s the Grim at all. In the end, the Grim (Sirius) will _not_ kill Harry.

Hermoine’s insistence on this (which carries over to mealtime) and her argument hits on the point quite well – appearances are not as they seem. She tells Ron he wasn’t so confident about the matter when he was telling Harry the shape in his teacup was a sheep. Oddly, she also refers to Divination being a ‘woolly’ discipline and I can’t help but wonder if the sheep references are a way of saying we are having the wool pulled over our eyes about Sirius.

Transfiguration is the next lesson. Not only does Professor McGonagall tell us all to be wary of Divination and what we’re being told (i.e. Harry will die by Grim), but she teaches them about Animagus wizards and turns into a cat and back. Being an Animagus is the secret to Sirius getting into the castle, and it is a cat (Crookshanks) which helps him get into Gryffindor tower.

Care of Magical Creatures follows, and we are introduced to Buckbeak and all the ways in which he is to be handled – very important for later on when you’re trying to rescue a convicted criminal on his back. Of course, this lesson not only introduces us to Buckbeak, but sets into motion Lucius Malfoy. Much like the Slytherin Malfoys who are hell bent on revenge and not reason, Snape will later be hellbent on exacting revenge. Refusing to listen to reason about Peter Pettigrew, he insists Black needs to die.

We then have Potions, which in itself is not all that important, but it does give Harry a nice chance to face off with Snape. And Harry deciding to face-off with Snape in the Shrieking Shack is something which will turn the course of Sirius’ fate. If Harry decided not to attack Snape, Sirius would have been given to the dementors immediately. Draco taunts Harry about going after Sirius – again a clue that Harry doesn’t know anything about Sirius, and the reader should be thinking more about his true identity.

The last lesson is DADA with Lupin and the boggart, where we get to see his boggart as the full moon, and we see him stand between Harry and a ‘dementor’. This reflects the rise of the Marauders, and Harry standing between the dementors and Sirius. Lupin is a werewolf, and the full moon will ‘come back to bite them’. Harry will be threatened by dementors. Lupin will teach Harry how to overcome the dementors using a boggart in training… 

You get it, I’m sure…


	5. Fourth Year Classes

Fourth Year sees Harry compete in the Triward Tournament, but before his name gets pulled out of the Goblet, his first week goes ahead assuming Harry is in for a 'normal year':

  1. Herbology – Learn about Bubotuber pus, and Eloise Midgen’s acne issues
  2. Care of Magical Creatures – Meet the Blast Ended Skrewts
  3. Divination – Trelawney tells Harry the ‘thing you dread will indeed come to pass’. She incorrectly guesses his birthday as Voldemort’s
  4. DADA – Meet Moody and the Unforgivable Curses



Bubotuber pus as a face-value item doesn’t seem like much. It only shows up in Hermione’s mail with temporary side effects. Symbolically it represents much more. When you think about the sexual imagery rife in the ‘squeezing the tubers’ scene, it soon becomes a representation of teenage frustrations and the Yule ball. The Bubotubers represent both the teenage physical shift and the Yule Ball which is intertwined with this concept. Acne is hand in hand with hormones in most people’s minds. It reminds us of the focus on appearances and overwhelming embarrassment which can be felt during those years.

Professor Sprout talks about Eloise Midgen and her nose, and Eloise will be mentioned later when Ron and Hermione argue over the Yule Ball. Hermione only gets the pus in the mail when Rita Skeeter starts writing about the non-existent love triangle between Hermione, Harry and Krum.

So, while the Herbology lesson seems innocuous, it is the signal for the teenage awakenings and messy love triangles which start to happen to the trio over the course of book 4.

We next head off to Hagrid’s where we find out about Skrewts. Surely, you’re not surprised that a Skrewt ended up in the maze? More than a creature, it represents several themes which we see through book 4. Repulsive, mysterious, out of place, and ever growing, much like puberty itself… Skrewts represent the challenges of growing up, which are particularly poignant for Harry since he essentially a kid competing with other wizards who have come of age.

Skrewts are also illegal half-breeds, and we all know what an issue being a half-breed becomes, particularly for poor Hagrid (who gave us the Skrewts in the first place). Rita Skeeter seems interested in talking to Hagrid about them, but it is not his half-breed Skrewts which become the focus of Rita’s despicable quill.

Up to the North Tower, and off to Divination, where Trelawney tells Harry the things he dreads will indeed come to pass. We all know how ‘accidentally on the money’ Sybill’s predictions can be, and this is no different. We also get a nice little nod to Voldemort’s return when Trelawney incorrectly picks Harry’s birthday as being in mid-winter. Well, Harry wasn’t born in mid-winter, but Voldemort sure was…

Barty Crouch Jnr next gives Harry a lesson in DADA. The Unforgivable Curses. All those curses come up later in the graveyard.

  * ‘Moody’ gives Ron the spotlight first, as we learn about the Imperius Curse. Later in the book, Ron will assume Harry wants the spotlight in the Triwizard Tournament, which causes their rift during the lead up to the First Task..
  * Next, Neville is subjected to watching the Cruciatus Curse (which the real Moody would have never done!). Here we get a clue to the real identity of the fake Moody. Remember, Barty Crouch Jnr _actually did that to Neville’s parents himself_ … Doesn't loosing someone dear to you have something to do with the Second Task?
  * And lastly, we have Avada Kedavra, and the only known person to have survived it – precisely why Voldemort wants the kid’s blood, and traps him during the Third Task!



To round it all out, although it’s not a class itself, Hermione comes up with SPEW in the trio’s first week, and all classes are punctuated with her gulping down meals and bolting off to the library. We find out it’s what she’s been working on all week. House elves become highly critical to the story, despite everyone (except Hermione) failing to take an interest them.


	6. Fifth Year Classes

Ready to sit your OWLs?...

  1. History of Magic – Hermione tells Harry and Ron off for not taking notes, and says they would fail their OWLs without her
  2. Potions – Draught of Peace. Harry doesn’t read the board properly and ends up with a zero when Snape vanishes his useless potion
  3. Divination – They start work on dream interpretation
  4. DADA – Meet our most despised teacher, Umbridge. No spells will be used in her class. Oh, and by the way, Harry… you’re a LIAR…



History of Magic isn’t the most helpful or exciting class. At the start of OTP, we get a lesson in which the boys (as usual) don’t pay attention because the environment makes it impossible for them to learn in. Hermione gives them a sound telling off and asks them what would happen if she didn’t help them.

Their answer is that they would fail their OWLs.

Not being able to learn in the classroom. Learning from each other. These are reoccurring themes through the book and become the Dumbledore’s Army sub-plot. The reason why they start Dumbledore’s Army is because Umbridge is not providing a good learning environment, they’re afraid they will fail their OWLs, and be hideously underprepared for Voldemort.

Potions is the next lesson, and tells us how Harry will behave, and what will be his downfall. In this lesson, Snape is getting them to prepare a Draught of _Peace_ – something which Snape and Siruis can’t seem to find between themselves. Peace is also something which Harry struggles to find at night, when he is being woken by visions of the Ministry of Magic.

But it is Harry’s failure at brewing the draught which tells us much more. Harry rushes. He is distracted, and consequently doesn’t read his instructions properly. He misses the drops of hellebore he was supposed to add. Barging off with only half the information, seems to be Harry’s MO for the book.

He neglected the gift Sirius gave to him – the mirror. If he had opened the parcel and read the note, he’d know he could have used the mirror instead of Umbridge’s fireplace. The mirror would have really told him if Sirius was in danger or not, unlike the false message he received from Kreacher.

Harry rushes off to the Ministry. He doesn’t slow down. He doesn’t calm his mind. His lack of planning and composure leads to the death of his godfather. Much like his vanished potion, his godfather is gone without a trace. There isn’t even a body to bury.

Harry’s inability to follow instruction and remain calm is also why he is so abysmal at Occlumency.

Speaking of Occlumency, the next lesson is in the North Tower, studying Divination. Here they start on the interpretation of dreams. Considering the night visions Harry will soon have about Arthur Weasley, I’d say there’s a pretty strong signal for what is to come in the book.

Lastly, we wrap up with Umbridge’s first DADA class. Hermione points out the obvious flaw with the lesson plan, and later we discover the Ministry don’t want the kids using spells. Dumbledore’s Army is now seeded.

Harry shouts at Umbridge about the return of Voldemort, and she calls him a liar and almost loses her temper. Half of OTP revolves around people calling Harry a liar, even if later he will be vindicated. We also see the first signs that Dolores Umbridge is not the frilly fluffball everyone first assumes.

Harry ends up getting a ginger newt and a quiet warning from McGonagall. The crux of McGonagall’s message is ‘Don’t mess with Umbridge and the Ministry, because you’re tackling stuff that is too big for you, and you need to stop being so rash’. He shouldn’t have gone to the Ministry. He should have kept his nose clean and left it to the Order... I don’t want to rub salt in the Sirius wound, so I’ll stop now before I cry…


	7. Sixth Year Classes

Sixth Year. This is Harry’s last school year, although he doesn’t yet know it:

  1. DADA – Snape is now in charge. Snape mentions the previous teachers. Harry knocks Snape over with a Protego spell. When Harry criticises Snape for the way he speaks about the Dark Arts, Hermione says he sounds like Harry.
  2. Potions – Meet Slughorn, win some Felix Felicius, and get a book scribbled over by some person called the Half-Blood Prince.
  3. Dumbledore’s first lesson – Morfin Gaunt has broken the wizarding law, and we get a glimpse of Voldemort’s parents, the ring which cursed Dumbledore’s hand, and more importantly we see _the locket._



Harry confronting Snape. Snape being knocked down by a protective spell. Snape speaking about the Dark Arts. Sigh...

Snape will knock Dumbledore off the astronomy tower. Harry will be unable to protect him. And despite what Harry thinks, Hermione points out that Snape actually sounds like one of the good guys… I don’t want to rub salt in the Dumbledore wound either…

The comment about previous DADA teachers will surface later when we find out that Tom Riddle had cursed the teaching post. Snape, like his predecessors, will only last one year teaching that class.

We also get a question in DADA about Inferi from Parvati, to which Snape advised that the Dark Lord used Inferi in the past and so it should be assumed he will do so again. Thanks, Snivelly, for the tip on what’s to come in the seaside cave. Much appreciated.

Potions. So critical to this book.

We get the Half-Blood Prince’s potion book, but you don’t need that reference explained, I’m sure. We also meet Slughorn (who’s memory is crucial), and you don’t need that explained either. Slughorn has several potions on his desk. Let’s look at those instead.

The first is Veritaserum. Truth potion. It will be the truth about Voldemort’s past which will be Harry’s greatest weapon. The truth about Snape. The truth about Draco. The truth about the unbreakable vow…. And of course, Slughorn’s truth about what happened with Tom Riddle. HBP is full of secrets… and we need the truth…

Polyjuice potion is used for concealing your identity. We’ll find out about Snape’s concealed identity soon. Draco’s too. Draco is a key player in the HBP plot, like he has not been in any other book. How does he spend so much time in the Room of Requirement? He gives Crabbe and Goyle Polyjuice potion from this exact same batch on Slughorn’s desk.

Amortentia… Is it any coincidence that our trio sit near this particular cauldron? What is that thing Hermione smells? ‘Won-Won’? Poor Ron will not only become the victim of a love potion (and a subsequent poisoning), but Lavender’s ‘love victim’ too. The trio will be caught up in matters of the heart for most of the book. Love affects the Order too - Lupin and Tonks will play out their love story, as will Bill and Fleur.

One more thing to add on the Amortentia note: _Ginny Weasley_. Harry smells something flowery he thinks might be from The Burrow. Aw, yeah, boy! That’s your future wife you’re sniffing! She's going to show up before the end of your first week and warn you about the dangers of taking instructions from an unknown book, and by the end of _this book_ , you’re gonna get some serious snogging done, my friend. Er, but then you’ll have to ditch her because you know… love… danger… that Tom Riddle bloke…

And then of course, there’s the Felix itself… but I’m sure you get that reference.

For the rest of the lesson, Slughorn gets them to brew the Draught of Living Death, which sounds just as unpleasant as the potion Dumbledore will drink in Riddle's cave. Harry follows his instincts and uses the Half-Blood Prince's methods with a brilliant result. Much of his success in obtaining Slughorn's memory, and finding out what Draco is up to, relies on Harry following his gut.

Dumbledore’s lesson is not at all surprising. Learning about Riddle is the key to success, but we see nearly all the elements we need _for this book_ referenced in the single memory from Bob Ogden – the locket they will seek, and the ring which damaged Dumbledore's hand. The other things hinted at in later lessons with Dumbledore don’t surface until the next book…


	8. Seventh Year Life Lessons

So, what do we make of Deathly Hallows?

There are no lessons, but there is a curriculum set for the trio. The last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

It lays out the quest Dumbledore is setting them on. Appropriate they are getting their lessons from Dumbledore directly, and not the school (which is now really Voldemort’s domain).

  1. To Ron, he leaves the Deluminator ‘in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it’
  2. To Hermione, The Tales of Beedle the Bard ‘in the hope she will find it entertaining and instructive’
  3. To Harry, the Snitch as ‘a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill’



Oh yeah, and the sword of Gryffindor…

All the items in Dumbledore’s will are self-explanatory on the surface, as each of these magical objects play a part in the plot.

What I want to look at here is Dumbledore’s choice of words, and the discussion that the trio have that night in Ron’s room. Because really, that is their ‘starting lesson’ before embarking on their quest.

In the hope that he will _remember me_ when he uses it…

The trio sit in Ron’s bedroom wondering why Dumbledore singled out Ron to turn out lights.

If there is one thing I associate with Albus, it is _love_. The power he has always insisted is the greatest there is. When Ron hears a voice coming out of the Deluminator, it is not Harry’s - it’s Hermione’s. Saying his name… The woman he _loves._

If Albus invented this curious device to put out lights (or more aptly to take a light and hold on to it) why did it guide Ron back to Hermione? Had he modified it for Ron? Or had it always performed that function? And if it was always built that way, did Dumbledore ever hear a voice issue from it?

In Ron’s case he _does_ turn out the lights for the trio – he leaves. Leaves them in emotional darkness. But he still holds on to that light, and in the end, it is a light in his heart which will lead him back to his friends. Yes, the Deluminator turns out lights, but it does so much more. Much like Ron, it is undervalued. Harry tells Ron to go, but later realises that life without him is a little empty. They need him. They love him.

And Dumbledore always said that hope can be found in the darkest of places if we only remember to turn on the light.

A reminder of the rewards of _perseverance and skill_ …

Harry, you’re going to need both of those qualities in great measures to even survive to the end of this book.

The next topic of discussion for the trio in the bedroom is the snitch. Unlike the movie, where Harry doesn’t think to put the snitch to his mouth until he is alone with Hermione, Harry figures it out immediately in the book. He just didn’t want the Minister for Magic seeing it, so he waits until that night in Ron’s room.

 _I open at the close_. A critical piece of information, but the trio can’t make any sense of it. Harry does eventually figure out the Resurrection Stone is inside, but he doesn’t not know how to open it. Only when the time comes for him to die, does Harry finally understand what it means.

He has to tell it that he is about to die. He has to voice the understanding of his fate aloud.

If I were a speculative person (which I am) I would say this is reflective of his sacrifice. He is no longer the Seeker of the snitch. He is the seeker of sacrifice, like his parents before him.

It is not until we are faced with death that we often give it any _real_ consideration. If you’ve ever been unfortunate to have one of those moments, you’ll know that unlike the normal mortality worries we all have, thinking you’re actually going to die is a _hell of a thing_.

Until Harry understands he himself is a Horcrux, he is not fully prepared to die. Instead he will persevere with skill, until the moment he walks into the forest and refuses to lift his wand for the first time. His bravery previously came from a will to live. This bravery is different, and one he doesn’t fully understand until the time comes.

The trio also briefly discuss the sword, and why Dumbledore didn’t just give it to Harry.

Turns out in the long run that the sword isn’t meant for Harry at all. When Scrimgeour discusses the sword, he points out it does not belong to Harry and may present itself to _any_ worthy Gryffindor. Another Gryffindor will claim it from the icy pool in the forest – Ron. Also… Hello, Neville…

Harry feels like he is sitting an examination with a question he ought to know in front of him. He wonders whether there was something he missed. Something Dumbledore said he had not paid attention to. Eventually he’ll figure out he missed nothing, and that this is a quest he must figure out on his own.

In the hope she will find it entertaining and _instructive_ …

The last topic of discussion. The circumstance of Ron having read a book, and Hermione not, was unprecedented. Always the tone of surprise, right? Don’t undervalue Ron’s knowledge, kids, because he’s going to get you into the chamber of secrets later, destroy the locket, and save Harry from drowning…

But I digress…

Xenophilius tells Hermione the reason why the term ‘Deathly Hallows’ isn’t in Beedle’s Tale is because “That is a children’s tale, told to amuse rather than _instruct_ ”.

So, what exactly is _instructive_ about The Tale of Three Brothers?

It’s not just about the objects themselves, it is the manner in which the Peverell brothers face Death. The first brother wants to fight it. The second brother wants to cheat it. Ignotus, on the other hand, chooses to live in peace until the day he can embrace death as an old friend.

This is what Dumbledore wants to instruct Harry on. Not the Hallows themselves, but the way he must take possession of them, and the way he should face death when his time comes. A fact he becomes fully aware of when he emerges from the The Prince’s Tale.

Dumbledore will reiterate this to Harry, and the reader, at King’s Cross Station.

“You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.”

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

To defeat death, to conquer your fear of it, you must accept its possibility. Face it. Embrace it.

James and Lily Potter knew this.

In the end, so did their son.

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